Fourth Witness

Translated by Alejandro Landman and Norbert Porile

Approximately 10,000 Jews, 5,000 Ukrainians, and 2000 Poles lived in Buchach
prior to the War. The Jewish and non-Jewish populations had good, and even
friendly, relations before the War (at least in comparison to other places in
eastern Galicia). However, after the Russians abandoned Buchach, the deserters
of the Soviet army as well as the local rabble began to ransack Jewish stores.
Meanwhile, Jewish inhabitants had a premonition of the danger that faced them
and locked themselves in their homes.

The Germans marched into Buchach on July 4, 1941, following numerous rounds of
machine gun fire. The first killer in green uniform appeared at 4 am, hid in
the ruins of a destroyed house, and waited for the rest of his company while
keeping watch. His company followed and then the rest of the army arrived.
While Jewish houses were kept under observation, no atrocious acts occurred
initially. However, immediately after the German entry, the non-Jewish
inhabitants of the town took off their masks and turned into monsters.
Ukrainians detained Jews on the streets and dragged them off to perform forced
labor, cleaning sewers, fixing roads, etc.

On the 6th of July my youngest son, age 6, disappeared. We were desperate and searched for
him everywhere. We found out after a lengthy search that a Ukrainian youth,
wearing the characteristic Ukrainian cap, had taken him in the direction of
Guzenka. I went there and saw my son in the distance. While crying he told me
that a Ukrainian from Guzenka had kidnapped him and forced him to package used
nails that he had stolen in order to sell them.

The Ukrainians completely changed their relationship with the Jews and started
to abuse them at every opportunity. If they happened to spot a prosperous
Jewish home they broke into it at night and stole its contents. Often, the
residents were taken to the Fedor and killed. Many Jews were murdered in this
manner, under the eyes of the complicities Ukrainian leadership and
intelligentsia. Among others, those killed included the tailor
Kruh, Israel Landman, the wife of Dr. Foks, and the shopkeeper Polak. The
Ukrainians engaged in the same form of killing in nearby villages: in
Pabshovka, Zaleshchiki, Midvadbach, Plalikobich, etc. They razed Jewish homes
in plain daylight, robbed and murdered, all under the uncaring view of the
Germans.

After several weeks, a provisional municipal government called
"Ortskommandantur" was formed. The Ukrainians stopped their killing
but began to hunt down Jews who were not wearing armbands displaying the Star
of David. When they found such a person they dragged him to the police,
harassing him on the way. The Ukrainians, acting on their own and independently
of the German authorities, organized their own police under the temporary
command of Taras Hatkovich of Naguzniki. Later, one Koznowski from Gaiow, who
encouraged the seizure and abuse of Jews and was involved in a number of
killings, took command of the Ukrainian police.

At first, the Ukrainian command issued a series of orders designed to limit the
freedom of Jews and assigned them to forced labor on their own initiative.
Later, these orders had to meet with German approval. They let us know that by
order of the Ukrainian police all men between the ages of 18 and 50 years had
to present themselves on August 10, 1941, at 5 am at the square called
Pig's Square to go to work. This order caused panic in the Jewish
population since everyone knew that this was not a real call to work but
represented a grave danger. However, in order to avoid reprisals against the
rest of the Jewish community, the affected men agreed to present themselves. I
remember that I woke up at 4 in the morning of the above day. Looking out the
window I could see small groups of Jews who were meeting at the side of the
Beit Hamidrash. I could see that some put on a brave appearance while other
looked sad. Some were accompanied by their wives and children but all were
afraid and insecure. I was living on St. Nicholas Street, next to the Beit
Hamidrash, and I could hear the noise coming from the street. After saying
goodbye to my family I went out to the Square at 5 am, together with my brother
Bernard. We were met on the Square by some Jewish university students, who told
us that we shouldn't let insults provoke us. The head of the Jewish community
at that time was Mendel Raij, a man of rectitude who gave strength to the Jews
facing the Germans. The German commandant and the Ukrainian mayor were there
along with some 100 Ukrainian police, who began to insult the assembled Jews,
singing obscene songs. The German commandant appointed Raij as chief of the
Judenrat (Jewish Council) and demanded a substantial contribution
of money and valuables from the Jewish community. The Jews were divided into
groups and assigned work while the professionals and merchants were allowed to
leave. I too was allowed to leave thanks to Abin Bubik, the Ukrainian mayor.
Most of the Jews were pressed into forced labor but were allowed to return home
at night.

At this time the Judenrat of Buchach was fully established. As stated above,
its president was Mendel Raij. The other members were Dr. Shtern, Dr Isidor
Neuman Honik, David Kanar, Baruch Kramer, Yacov Ebenstein, and Dr. Zaifer. I
want to emphasize that, in contrast to other towns, the Buchach Judenrat
members were honest and cared about their fellow Jews. Dr. Zaifer was the only
one of them to survive the War.

Groups of Jews were sent out to do forced labor for a period of time. At the
same time, there were labor roundups on the streets. Then came the terrible day
of August 25, 1941. All men between 18 and 50 years were ordered to congregate
next to the Kehila at 5 pm. Some 800 Jews gathered. They were divided into
groups and taken by the Ukrainian police to jail, where they were held till
dawn. At that time they were taken to the Fedor where they were all shot to
death around 9 am. People could not believe what had just happened. There were
various rumors  some of the missing had been seen in Chortkov, people had
received letters from others, etc. So it went until it became known that the
Germans had killed the Jews in what came to be called Aktzias
 the Germans called them Judenaktion  Judenaussiedlung
(Jewish campaign  Jewish evacuation). That day we lost the best people in
town: doctors, lawyers, merchants, young men, etc. We subsequently received
word from Stanislow that on the day of Hosana Raba (October 12, 1941, AL) the
Germans had killed tens of thousands of Jews.

One day in August a group of Hungarian Jews, guarded by Ukrainians, passed
through Buchach on a forced march. Jews were forbidden to stay on the street
while these poor souls walked by. Many ignored this restriction and they were
grabbed by the Ukrainian police and forced to join the march. Among them was
one of my sons. I took off my Mogen David bracelet and ran after the marchers
in order to rescue him. A Ukrainian acquaintance denounced me to a German
policeman but when I explained the situation he let me follow. I reached the
group and found my son near the rear, where he was helping to carry a child. I
joined the group and then tried as best I could to leave with my son. I knew
that they were marching us to our death. We reached the train station and they
left us standing next to some shacks. The Ukrainian police took advantage of
this wait by taking the best-dressed persons into a shack and robbing them.
This also happened to me and they took everything I had in my pockets. I had
almost lost all hope when I spotted a Ukrainian client of mine passing by on
horseback. He was from Kiziuk and worked for the chief of the Buchach police. I
asked for his help and he ordered the police to let us go. I took advantage of
this opportunity and succeeded in freeing some other Buchach Jews: Knabler and
his son Izi, Moshe Rozen, Altshuler, Aronkrantz, the son in law of Hakan, and
others. I also managed to secure the release of two young Hungarians, whom we
took into town with us. On the way back a Ukrainian policeman who accompanied
us ordered us to sing. We had no choice and Moshe Rozen, who was the only one
who knew the song, sang. Several days later we learned that all the Hungarian
Jews had been killed near Monterzyska.

The Jewish population was forced to turn over to the Gestapo assorted
contributions on an ongoing basis. In November 1941 several new German
administrative structures were formed: the German police, a
Landkommissar, and a Landrat (district commissioner).
The police chief was a certain Maister, an older man who was not totally
anti-Semitic. With this appointment the situation improved somewhat. The
Ukrainian bands stopped their killing. The Germans ordered the formation of a
work detail for men between 16 and 50 years of age. They were sent to Borki
Wielkie, near Tarnopol. The men had to present themselves to the Judenrat with
three days worth of clothing and food. Disobedience was punished. Many Jews
could not stay alive under the conditions prevailing at Borki despite the fact
that they were not particularly mistreated by the Germans.

Mayor Abin Bubik, a very diplomatic middle-aged man, maintained good relations
with the Jews, had a friendly attitude and always defended them, and opposed
the establishment of a Ghetto. He received Jews in his office and helped them
often. He personally saved those that he could from the Aktzias and never
failed to greet a Jew on the street. I emphasize all this because such behavior
was highly unusual. Bubik was the son of a poor shoemaker but reached the top
position in the town and was able to alleviate somewhat the suffering of the
Jews in these terrible times. Jews living in other towns of the region tried to
move to Buchach to take advantage of these better conditions and the Jewish
population increased considerably. The head of the Judenrat at this time was
Baruch Kramer, who had ready access to the German authorities. Both Dr. Zaifer
and he could solve whatever problems the Jews might have with the German
authorities. Life was calm until the autumn of 1942. Jews who arrived from
other places said that Buchach was heaven and thus the number of Jews in August
1942 increased to 15,000. Since Bubik had opposed it there was, strictly
speaking, no Ghetto. The local authorities did not persecute the Jews and they
could move quite freely in their zone. It was like being in one country within
another, with the governing power residing in the Judenrat, supported by the
Ordnungsdienst (security police).

And so came the terrible day. It happened on Rosh Hashanah of 1942. The Jews
had a premonition that danger was near. There was talk of an Aktzia called
Judenaussiedlung and people began to build hideouts in their
basements, attics, and other possible locations. As always, the Jews gathered
on Rosh Hashanah to pray. The first day I prayed at the home of Erlich and
everyone was afraid for his life.

The Aktzia that all were waiting for, since it had already taken place in the
nearby towns, came on November 31, 1942 (sic). It was a beautiful and sunny
fall day. I was looking at the street through a crack in the curtains and all
appeared normal. People were walking outside but I couldn't hear a single
Jewish voice and I realized that the Jews had disappeared from the streets. The
Aktzia began at 7 am and lasted until 7 pm. We could hear in our hideout the
screams of Jewish victims who were being removed from their homes. The Gestapo
also searched our house but didn't find our hideout. Next morning we heard
Jewish voices and realized that the Aktzia was over. On this day 2000 Buchach
Jews were taken to the gas chambers at Belzec. A few young people were able to
jump from the wagons and return to their homes.

Following this event, the Christians completely changed their behavior towards
us. They seemed to be telling us that the world was not for us to live in and
that even though we had managed to save ourselves this time they would get us
sooner or later. Around this time the Germans forced the Jews living on several
streets in the suburbs to move into our zone and this led to considerable
crowding.

The second Aktzia took place on December 1, 1942. Rumors of a new Aktzia were
in the air on November 30 and many Jews took to their hiding places or hid in
the forest. However, some were unprepared and were captured without opportunity
to hide. The Aktzia began at 6 am, when the first shots could be heard. The
Viennese professor, Dr. Klein, an outstanding individual who had lived among
Germans all his life, was among those killed. He had arrived in Buchach
together with his wife and they lived at the home of Sommerstein on Podhaitzka
street. He refused to hide when the Aktzia began despite the entreaties of his
landlord. When two Gestapo men arrived he asked them in and in a beautiful
German explained that he was innocent and that he had dedicated his entire life
to German science and teaching. He further told them that he was
Freidenkend und innerlich überzeugter Deutscher (a free
thinking German to the core). The Gestapo listened and then stated Sie
sind doch Jude (yes, but you are Jew). The same fate befell Dr. Klein as
the other Jews since he was guilty according to the German rules. He was taken
from the house and killed.

Some 1800 Jews perished in this Aktzia, which lasted until 5 pm. After it was
over the Jewish living quarter was restricted to the following streets:
Grundwalska, Buznica (the synagogue street), Kolejowa, Podhajska (left side
only) and St. Nicolas. A few Jews were able to remain outside this Jewish zone
by permission of the Landkommissar (none of them survived).

At this time the moral degradation of the Buchach Jews began. Even though the
local authorities acted in acceptable fashion, the continuing visits by the
Gestapo always led to victims and provoked mortal fear. One day in December
1942, Aba Shechter, an older Jew, and two youths were taken to the Judenrat by
the Ordnungsdienst. They were ordered to line up and wait. Standing next to
them was a well-known Buchach killer, the German policeman Paul. He took them
to the rear entrance of Shimon Abenstein's house and there he killed them. The
Ordnungsdienst immediately removed the bodies. I saw it all from my window.

Around this time a typhus epidemic broke out in the Jewish population and many
died. The epidemic was caused mainly by overcrowding and malnourishment. A
Ukrainian physician paid us a visit on behalf of the municipal authorities and
concluded that the Jews had caused the epidemic and had to be eliminated.

Near the end of December 1942, there were street arrests. The Ukrainian police
grabbed the Jews and took them to their station. Mrs. Schporn (born Hirshhorn)
was killed that day as she tried to escape. Most of the prisoners were moved to
Chortkow and were rescued only upon the payment of a large ransom. In January
1943 the Judenrat issued an order requiring all men between age 18 and 50 years
to be taken to a work camp in Borki.

The third Aktzia, which lasted two days, took place in early February 1943. A
very small number of Jews were left in Buchach when it was over. Many hideouts
were discovered, a task in which Ukrainian criminals participated. At the end
of the Aktzia the streets were full of corpses and blood. I will never forget
these two days. My family and I, as well as Mrs. Godfrid, were in our attic
hideout. My parents and a few neighbors were hiding in the basement. The Aktzia
began at 6 am. I saw a Gestapo agent going into the Weiss home and kill a
Jewish girl who was running to hide. We could hear from our hideout how they
entered neighboring homes, discovered the hideouts, and removed the victims.
Those who did not want to leave were killed on the spot. Jews were assembled
throughout the day and then taken to the Fedor forest and killed. We heard the
shots and knew that each one represented another victim. On this occasion the
Jews were not transported to Belzec but killed right in Buchach's own Fedor.
The following day cars full of corpses could be seen passing through town.

Following the Aktzia, the Judenrat gathered all the belongings that were left
in the homes of murdered Jews and closed off the streets on which they had
lived. Their houses were given in trust to the municipality and were then sold
for next to nothing to Ukrainians.

Around this time a work camp was created under the command of
Z. S. H., with L. K. acting as guard commander. They acted as if
they owned the young Jewish survivors and ordered their detention. One day, my
16-year-old son was stopped and taken to this camp. I resolved to rescue him,
went to see the camp commander, and asked him to let my son go, even if just
for a brief time. He answered that all those in the camp had to stay there all
the time and, furthermore, that I should be happy because they were safe there.
In March all the members of the Judenrat along with their families were also
moved to the camp. Anyone wishing to visit had to pay off the commander.

The situation of the Jewish population was getting worse. They were allowed to
shop only in the market on the side streets and then only for two hours a day,
from 10 to 12 in the morning. The Ukrainians harassed vendors who sold to Jews
despite the fact that people already knew of Hitler's defeats. In the middle of
March 1943 the Ordnungsdienst of Tarnopol came to Buchach to rob the surviving
Jews. They went from house to house taking any decent furniture. At this time
there were few Jews left, there wasn't a family that hadn't lost someone, and
all knew that they had been condemned to death. The Jews began to sell all
their possessions for half price. It was actually forbidden for Jews to sell
anything since all their belongings had been declared property of the state.

A very disorganized Aktzia began at the end of March. Jews were killed all day
long every day, whether on the street or in their homes. Janek Hirschhorn was
killed at this time right next to our home. He was first gravely wounded and
begged for his life because he had two sons. He showed his work papers but the
German assassins gave him the coup de grace. The stones on which his body was
left remained bloodstained for weeks.

At the beginning of April 1943, there was another Aktzia, in which several
hundred Jews were killed. Several Jewish families were hiding in the home of a
German in Naguzniki. Their presence was discovered and among those killed were
Dr. Isidor Neuman, a Buchach lawyer, Sami Angelberg, and others. The surviving
Jews drew hope from the news about Allied victories in North Africa and
elsewhere. People speculated that there would be Allied advances from one side
and Russian advances from the other and this gave them hope. The behavior of
the non-Jewish population towards the Jews also varied with the news from the
front.

Bloody Spring (April, 1943)

All the Jews who remained alive were searching for hiding places, as this was
the only chance of saving themselves. Farmers charged 1000 DM per person per
month to hide Jews in their attics. Jews with children were even worse off in
finding shelter. Word spread about some farmers who hid Jews for a few weeks,
then stole everything they had and turned them over to the Gestapo. Despite
this knowledge everyone still tried to find hiding places. May 12, 1943
arrived. The Judenrat put up a notice on Boznica Street from the German
commandant ordering the Jews to leave Buchach by the end of May and move
Kopechynce or Tluste. The order was signed by Kramer. Panic broke out among the
survivors and all tried to find hiding places in order to remain in town. Some
left for Tluste as the people in this town were more trustworthy. Others went
to Kopechynce and the rest remained in town, making a payment to stay in the
Jewish zone, which now consisted of a single street, St Nicholas Street, near
the Russian church. This took place in early June 1943.

About this time the members of the Judenrat, the Ordnungsdienst, and other
people with connections were moved
to a camp where Zalman Schterenberg was the commandant and Leon Kanar the chief
of the guard. Right from its formation this Jewish zone, where
several hundred Jews still lived, was attacked at night and its inhabitants
were killed on the spot or taken to the cemetery, where they were shot. Among
those killed at this time were Yona Glazer and family, Mrs. Sztern and son,
Fraibrun's brother-in-law (he of the shoe store, whose name I don't remember).
I could hear how this man begged the Ukrainian killers to spare him and gave
them money and valuables, but he was killed just the same.

Our house, which was on St Nicholas Street near the Jewish Hospital, was
occupied by my parents and my sister and her children on the ground floor and
by my family upstairs. The house was well protected, with bars on the windows.
Yet nobody slept in their beds but, rather, on piles of straw scattered on the
floor. I was the first to hear shots and shouting at 3 am one night. I alerted
my family downstairs and even before going back upstairs I could hear the
Ukrainian killers banging on the front door and shouting, open up
Jews. On that particular night an old tailor, an invalid, was staying
with us. Our house had two hideouts, one in the attic and another in the
cellar. The kitchen window faced the synagogue street and through it I could
see armed Ukrainian guards stalking their Jewish victims. It was difficult for
the impaired tailor to move rapidly. My family was already hiding in the attic
and I was left alone with him. I grabbed him by the hands and, with almost
superhuman strength, dragged him down to the basement where my parents were
already hiding. We could hear the footsteps of the killers on the stairway but
they did not discover our hideout.

This Aktzia lasted from dawn to 8 or 9 pm. At 8 it became quiet and one could
no longer hear Jewish voices or screams. It was the silence before the next
storm. Those who were still alive fled the town in order to hide. Many killed
themselves. I remember that my sister Bronia told us on returning to our
hideout (these days there were no longer Jews on the street) that the Erlich,
Zajdman, Kohan, and Raij had committed suicide. A Jew who did not have a farmer
to hide him was as good as dead.

On Sunday, June 13, 1943 my wife and I left Buchach. We successfully crossed
the town and followed our farmer across the Fedor to his house. The farmer's
name was Nicolai Zaharchiuk and he was Ukrainian. He and his Polish wife,
Marina, lived in Choitova, near Buchach. We arrived at the farmer's home and
went to his barn where our 12 and 18-year-old sons were waiting for us. They
were very happy to see us as they had heard of the last Buchach Aktzia and had
had no news from us.

In the Farmer's Attic

Our hideout was in the attic of the barn. The farmer had used boards to build a
false wall in the attic, which was 2 meters in from the real wall. This 2 meter
wide space provided room for 5 persons. A large amount of straw was placed in
front of the false wall in order to make it less noticeable. This is where we
lived during the last stage of the German occupation of Buchach, often in
hunger and thirst.

The last Aktzia in Buchach took place on June 25, 1943. Many hideouts were
discovered at this time and the Jewish quarter and its remaining inhabitants
were liquidated. Among the hideouts discovered was the one of my parents. They
took my 75-year-old father, my mother, my sister with her two children, and
others who were hiding there. On this day they also killed the members of the
Judenrat and Ordnungsdienst as well as others who thought that they would be
spared.

News reached us daily about the discovery of hideouts in the vicinity of
Buchach. Our farmer went to Buchach two or three times a week and brought us
newspapers and gossip. We were afraid that he would denounce us each time that
he left. The search for these Jewish hideouts was carried out by a Ukrainian
killer who was the son of Nahaiobski as well as by other bandits. They turned
their victims over to the German police, who took them to the Jewish cemetery
and killed them.

About this time a small group of surviving Jewish youngsters, between 17 and 22
years old, assembled in the woods surrounding Buchach. The group included the
two Bravar brothers, List, Friedlander, Fritz, etc., a few dozen in all. One
night this group burst into the home of the Ukrainian Nahaiobski and stabbed
him to avenge the murder of Jews. The news of this event spread rapidly through
town. The Ukrainians became so concerned that they suspended the search for
Jewish hideouts in fear that the rumor that there were Jewish partisans in the
Buchach woods might be true. It is worth noting that we felt safer in our barn
attic hideout since that day as the farmers stopped denouncing Jews for fear of
the partisans. Additional incidents in which Jewish partisans attacked
Ukrainians who turned Jews over to the Germans also occurred. Thanks to the
actions of these groups some 1,000 Jews were able to survive in Buchach until
the first Russian takeover. We also had the help of a few Catholics who were
different in this respect from the majority.

The Jews who survived the period between June 1943 and March 23, 1944 did so in
underground or attic hideouts, or in the woods. They lived in indescribable
conditions, always hungry and in fear of capture. We passed the time in our
attic in darkness, lying down and talking about what was going on. We ate a
late breakfast, essentially consisting of potatoes, in the afternoon or
evening. Our farmer improved our treatment, as the situation on the battlefront
got better. We received better food and once every four weeks he allowed us to
go to his house to bathe, shave, and change our clothes. These were our
happiest moments. We began to get milk when the Russians captured Kiev.

The day of liberation came on March 24, 1944. We really felt elated when a
woman told our farmer that the Russians had conquered Buchach. My son began to
cry at the news and lost his voice. He is still presently receiving medical
treatment for this condition in Vienna. The Russians abandoned Buchach after 10
days and the Germans returned so after leaving our hideout we went to
Chernovitz. Some 1000 Jews remained in Buchach after the Soviet army left. They
went back to their hideouts expecting the Russians to return in a few days.
However, the Russians delayed their return by 4 months and the front was
located in the vicinity of the town. A short time after the Russian retreat all
civilians were evacuated and the Jews were forced to leave their hideouts. I
estimate that no more than 50 Jews finally survived. These survivors abandoned
Buchach and traveled to the West. I have no idea how many Jews returned from
Russia.

Israel Gelbert
May 15, 1946

Translator's note (NP):

The various dates cited by the authors in this section of the Yizkor book don't
always agree with each other. I have consulted several additional sources,
including the Encyclopedia Judaica, Buczacz Origins by M. Rudner, and I Am A
Witness by M. Rosner. Most of the various sources agree on the following dates:

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